


If It All Went Wrong

by SherlockWolf



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon Compliant, I don't know why I ended this the way I did, It just kinda happened, Suicide, but im hurting and needed an outlet so here we are, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-05-12
Packaged: 2018-06-08 02:06:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6834643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SherlockWolf/pseuds/SherlockWolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What might have happened if that scene where Steve, Bucky, and Tony were fighting had gone horribly wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	If It All Went Wrong

 

    “Steve…” Bucky grunted out, staring at the still form of his friend lying across the room three levels down. Steve took a worrisome amount of time to move, and when he did, Tony was already there and swinging at his head. Bucky noticed that Steve didn’t have his shield, and he looked around for anything to grab to help him. Not three feet from his head was the shield itself, and with renewed energy Bucky snagged it, rose to his feet, and jumped at Tony. He jabbed the shield into the back of the Iron Man suit, distracting Tony long enough for Steve to stumble away.

    The next few seconds passed in a blur of fists, with him and Steve passing the shield between them. Then Tony shot a laser beam from the center of the suit, and without having to look behind him Bucky knew that it had almost hit Steve. That knowledge alone drove him to shove Tony against the wall with one target in mind: the core of the suit. He dug in with his metal hand to rip it out, but when he managed to break it he was thrown across the room by another beam released from the core when it shattered. His metal arm was shredded from his body and he let out an agonized scream when he hit the floor.

    He’d had it ripped off before, but this time the beam had caused the wires to shock him as electricity ran through and out of his body. It hurt like hell.

    Bucky saw a brief flash of red, white, and blue pass by his head before he blacked out.

    He opened his eyes barely a minute later, and turned his head toward the sound of fighting in time to see Steve land next to him, shield in hand and blood dripping from his head, mouth, and ear.

“Steve…” Bucky whispered, but Steve didn’t hear him. He was back on his feet, fighting his friend. For Bucky.

    Bucky saw Steve hit the ground again, too close to the edge of the landing for his personal comfort.

“Stay down.” Tony warned. But he didn’t. Steve, the idiot that he was, stood up again.

“I could do this all day.”

    _No._

    Bucky couldn’t let him. He rolled to his side, reaching for Tony’s leg that was near him just so that he could do _something_ to prevent Steve from getting hurt again. As soon as he latched on Tony kicked him in the face with his other leg, but it was enough for Steve to lunge forward with the advantage. Bucky rolled back but kept his head sideways to watch the two fighting, unable to look away. If Steve went over that edge…

    Tony knocked him down again, this time nearly on top of Bucky. Steve’s side was pushed up against his, and Bucky could feel each sharp breath as Steve’s lungs heaved. His sharp intake of breath gave away how much pain he was in, and when Bucky glanced over he saw that one of Steve’s legs was twisted at a horrible angle.

    The shield had fallen by Bucky’s head again, out of Steve’s reach.

“Why are you doing this?” Tony’s voice came from above them, but Bucky kept his eyes on Steve, wondering the same thing.

“He’s mine.” Steve replied simply, defiantly. Tony had nothing to say to that. Bucky, however, couldn’t let that slide.

“Steve you _punk_.” He breathed out, catching Steve’s attention. He didn’t smile, neither did Bucky, but the look they shared said enough.

“You’re pathetic.” Tony scoffed, “He killed my _mom_ , and you’re going to defend that just because you _love_ him? I can’t believe you.”

“You’re only fighting because you loved your mom, Tony. Don’t give me that hypocrisy.” Steve shot back. His voice was laced with pain, making Bucky’s blood boil.

Tony shook out his fists then clenched them, glaring hatefully at Steve. Bucky knew that look. He’d know that look in the eyes of any man. Tony was going to go for the kill.

_Oh hell no._

    There was nothing he could do as Tony swung at Steve’s face, the metal crunching Steve’s jaw and cheek bones. Tony stepped back and squared his shoulders. His cockiness implied he thought he was going to win.

“Steve!” Bucky gasped out as his friend slipped down against his side. Bucky latched on to Steve’s suit with his right hand and tried to heave himself upward.

“Buck, no. Don’t.” Steve hissed, pushing Bucky off of him. Bucky fell back to the floor only to grab for Steve again.

“He’s gonna kill you.” He grunted out just as Tony came forward and swung at Steve again. This time Steve brought his arm up in time to prevent his jaw from breaking.

    That’s when Bucky took action. Using Steve as a lever he hauled himself to his feet, ignored the burning pain of his left shoulder, grabbed the shield, and then turned to face Tony.

“Steve’s not the one at fault. Stop hurting him.” Bucky choked out, stepping around his friend. Steve protested, latching on to Bucky’s heel in some sort of effort to stop him, but Bucky easily shook him off as he lunged at Tony.

    He regretted doing so almost immediately. Without his arm he was incredibly unbalanced, and the weight of the shield only made it worse. He stumbled against Tony, who easily threw him to the ground.

“You’re right, you’re the one who deserves to die.” Tony snarled, pinning Bucky down with his knee on his chest and his arm holding Bucky’s away from him so that he couldn’t swing the shield. Then Tony reached for his neck.

“No! Tony don’t!” Steve _screamed_ from across the room. Bucky heard him shuffling toward them, but Tony was already cutting off his air. Within the minute he would be dead. No more Steve and Bucky. No more _til the end of the line._ It was over.

    He closed his eyes and accepted his fate.

    Suddenly Tony’s weight was gone. Bucky’s eyes flew open to see Steve haul Tony off of him, barely restraining him as he shouted at Bucky to _just run_.

Bucky couldn’t abandon him. Not like this. What if Tony killed Steve and Bucky wasn’t there to do anything about it? They had to stay together. Til the end of the line. They weren’t there yet.

    He got to his feet unsteadily, fell-stepped forward, and rammed the shield right into the center of Tony’s suit. The mangled circuits malfunctioned immediately, and Tony stumbled under the weight of it. Steve let go and stepped around Tony, reaching for Bucky as Tony fell to his knees. He took the shield from Tony’s chest as a last thought.

    “We’re not done.” Tony’s voice was filled with malice, but Steve had already put his arm around Bucky’s shoulders and was leading him away.

“Steve…” Bucky hadn’t taken his eyes off of Tony, who was lifting his arm, palm outstretched, center laser glowing faintly. The glowing grew brighter and Bucky knew exactly what was about to happen as it did.

“Steve!”

    Bucky held the shield up just as a weak but still harmful beam shot out at them. It hit the shield and dispersed, but it was enough energy to send Bucky and Steve tumbling to the ground. Bucky heard a crack beneath him that couldn’t be anything other than Steve’s body breaking. He shuffled off of Steve, casting the shield aside so that he could use his one arm to make sure Steve was okay.

    He wasn’t. Oh God. He wasn’t.

    Steve’s helmet was cracked, split by the brick his head had landed on. Blood was already seeping down his forehead, trickling into his eyes, dripping off his nose and chin. His blue eyes, with the little fleck of green in the left one, were fixed on Bucky and alight with excruciating pain. Bucky looked him over and saw that his leg was still damaged, his breathing was erratic, and there were tears in his suit that were caked in blood. His back was twisted unnaturally.

    “Buck…” Steve said, and Bucky stopped breathing. Steve’s hand, bloody itself, reached up to his face and caught the edge of his jaw. He traced it before letting his hand fall to the ground, unable to hold it up any longer. Steve’s body shuddered, and he drew in a sharp breath. Bucky grabbed that hand in his one and held tight.

“Bucky. I love you, Bucky, so much.” Steve whispered. His voice cracked with every word. Bucky’s vision swam as he realized what was happening. They had been so close to being free. So close to a future together. So far from the end…

“No. No no no. Stevie please, I just got you back.” Bucky’s voice was just as much of a wreck as Steve’s.

“Do me a favor, Buck, please.”

“Yeah.” Now it was Bucky’s turn to start shaking.

“Live.” Steve whispered, and he gave Bucky’s hand the tiniest squeeze.

“No, not without you.” He choked out.

“Promise.” Steve hissed, and his body shook again.

“Stevie. Please. No.”

“Promise.” Steve insisted.

Bucky shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut and letting the tears that had been building up fall.

“Bucky.” Steve’s voice had him opening his eyes again, not wanting to ever let the memory of Steve’s eyes go.

“I love you, Stevie.” Bucky said instead. Steve looked defeated, but he didn’t press anymore. Just started at Bucky and kept breathing. Bucky kept whispering how much he loved him, and a tiny smile made its way onto Steve’s lips. Barely another minute passed before his hand slackened, his eyes dulled, and his breathing stopped.

    Steven Grant Rogers was gone.

    Bucky didn’t stop shaking, didn’t stop crying, didn’t stop whispering how much he loved Steve. He did set Steve’s hand gently on the ground, clambered wearily to his feet, picked up the shield, and turned to Tony.

His expression must have been Hell, because Tony went pale and his eyes bugged out in fear. Maybe Tony would regret what he’d done. Maybe he wouldn’t. Bucky would never know, and honestly, he didn’t care. Tony would have to live with having killed Steve Rogers, Captain America. Bucky wouldn’t.

    Mechanically, Bucky walked over to the Iron Man, then dropped the shield in front of him. It clanged to the floor, but neither of them looked at it.

“I told him I wouldn’t kill anyone else.” Bucky whispered. Tony didn’t look any less afraid. But Bucky was going to keep that promise to Steve. That was the one he could keep.

“What did you promise him?” Bucky asked then, not actually wanting an answer. Thankfully Tony didn’t give him one. Although the look of horror that crossed his face as he realized what Bucky was implying was answer enough.

    Bucky walked over to the edge and looked down. It was easily a five hundred foot drop with scraggy, sharp-looking rocks and boulders below. He had never fallen that far in his life. He remembered Hydra agents and their enemies falling to their deaths from this edge, though. It would work.

“Bury him. He deserves the best funeral you can pay for and you know it.”

Tony just nodded. He’d won. And he would have to live with it. But not Bucky.

    Bucky closed his eyes and stepped over the edge.

-end-

   


End file.
